SOME TIMBER CUTTERS 
“ Listen to this, folks,” called Mr. Dayton, 
from the depths of a voluminous newspaper; 
“ here’s some data on one of Nature’s craftsmen, 
a skilled wood cutter and mason, that is most 
astonishing.” And he proceeded to read a spe¬ 
cial to the Post-Dispatch , as follows: 
“ ‘ Ellensburg, Washington.—A large number 
of beavers have executed an extraordinary en¬ 
gineering feat in the Cascade Mountains, forty 
miles from here, by building a dam twelve feet 
high and more than a quarter mile in length. 
Seven beaver houses at the center of the dam are 
of large proportions, one being fifteen feet high 
and thirty feet across at the bottom. These are 
unusually spacious for beaver homes, but ac¬ 
cording to Indians, were made so tall because of 
floods which are sure to come in the spring thaw. 
Evidently the beavers were looking for the long, 
cold winter being experienced in the Northwest, 
as large quantities of green wood for food were 
found in or near the houses. 
“ ‘ In building the great dam, the ingenuity of 
the most intelligent of the animals must have been 
taxed, for logs over a foot thick were carefully 
balanced between two large rocks at the point of 
greatest pressure. Not much water was held in 
by this log and rock wall, but in the freshet season 
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